Invisible Bonds
by Tera Hunter
Summary: Mirage discovers something about Starscream that will stick with him for the rest of his life. G1 characters, Animated designs. There is a pairing. You will see it very soon. Please review. High T, just in case.
1. Secrets Behind Windows of Opportunity

**A/N Be warned. This is one of my strangest fanfics EVER. I had a thought, I acted on it, I now need reviews to continue it. Please read, be open minded, and forgive me if this fries your circuitry.**

**Secrets Behind Windows of Opportunity**

It was an opportunity he now desperately wished he had missed. The door had only opened for a moment, and the chance had been so tantalizing, so perfect, he hadn't been able to resist. Not only would entering that forbidden room provide valuable intel, it would relieve the boredom of the sixth recon mission in _two solar cycles_.

So, with a quiet pounce he leapt over Rumble's frame as the Decepticon left and landed like a cat as the door slid shut behind him. A voice sounded almost directly above him.

"Thank Primus, I thought he'd never leave."

Mirage backpedalled as swiftly as stealth would allow as Starscream took a step forward, towards his uninvited guest, reaching over the scout's head to lock a rather extensive defense system on the door into place. Mirage remained frozen in his crouch by the wall. Despite being trapped in a room with one of the worst Decepticons in history, his blue optics were brilliant with excitement as they followed Starscream into the center of the room.

Starscream's ruby colored optics shifted from side to side, even though he was probably positive that he was alone. Then he raised his hands to his chassi.

What Mirage saw next would change his life…forever.

Starscream was suddenly running his servoes up and down his own armor, twisting here, shifting there, sliding there. Mirage watched in fascination. His initial disgust rapidly faded as he realized Starscream was _not_ free-sparking himself, he was…changing…somehow. With every deft movement of the Seeker's hands his frame grew slighter, curves began to appear, and (to Mirage's shock) Starscream's wings slid from his back and landed with a thud on the floor, exposing perfectly normal back-plating.

Mirage didn't even notice as his field dropped in surprise.

A flicker of suspicion, at first repulsed by denial, returned full force as Starscream wheeled back around.

It the was the worst moment in Mirage's entire undercover career. Starscream's lips parted in a quiet, melodic gasp as ruby-red optics landed on him. Mirage broke the moment with a blink.

"Dear, sweet Primus and the Allspark…" He whispered, optics automatically appraising Starscream's new form. "Starscream's a _femme_."

**A/N Short taste as a prologue. And _yes_, I DID do that. Please read on if you can.**


	2. I Don't Hit Femmes

**A/N: And...picking up where I left off...**

A nanoklik later he was invisible again and running for his spark as all slag broke loose. A highpitched shriek ripped out of Starscream's vocalizer as she strafed the room with her null rays. When no return screams reached _her_ (Dear Primus!) audios she raked the floor, not even noticing the fragile equipment shattering into sparking fragments around her.

Luckily, Mirage was one step ahead, or _up_ to be precise. The Autobot waited until Starscream stopped firing, a loud click announcing the weapons' need to recharge. Then he silently lowered himself back down to the floor. He was still thanking the Matrix that the rafters had held his weight when Starscream wheeled in his direction, optics wild and furious.

"_Come out and die, Autobot!_" She screeched in the voice Mirage had connected to a _Mech_ for eons. "_There is no escape!_"

Mirage knew that she was right. He had no idea how to open those doors…and he was afraid to find out what would happen if he tried. Her weapon might not be working, but those claws could probably rip a Mech in three places. His quick CPU noted absently that he could be trapped in here for _orns_ before Starscream left. His Spark shipped three pulses at the mere thought.

The computer (remarkably still intact) beeped, announcing an incoming transmission. Star froze, hesitating. Then she wheeled. "Accept feed. AUDIO _ONLY_."

Static fizzed across the screen and a familiar drawl filtered through. "Starscream, it's Warp. Megs wants you in the Command Center, pronto…hey, is this screen broken? Screamer?"

"Tell Megatron he can _frag Optimus Prime _for all I care, I'm BUSY!"

Mirage flinched, his mouth round in a silent "ouch".

"Screamer, come on!" Warp half-pleaded. "Don't make him break your lab door in again. He's already in a bad mood, do you _have _to make a statement today? Why can't…"

Mirage never got to hear the rest of Skywarp's warning. Starscream took three strides towards the console, shoved hi…_her_ half-charged null ray into the audio feed, and emptied her charge again.

"Scrap-fragger." She wasn't talking about her trinemate, Mirage realized. "When will he learn to _leave me alone_ when I SAY I'M BUSY?" She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "All right, Autobot. Let's try this again, shall we?"

Her voice had dropped to a pitchMirage hadn't heard since the glory days of Cybertron. Unbidden images of late lunar cycles, spiked energon, and the heated buzz of too many sparks too close together found their way into his recall cell. He was alert instantly as Starscream glanced from side to side, optics narrow, her servoes flexing with pent up energy. The phrase "Hide and Seeker" popped into his processor as she began to speak, a singsong hum underlaying the deadly venom in her words.

"Come on out, Autobot…we all must die sometime…"

Mirage felt his spark leap into his throat as a loud boom sounded across the base and made him jump. Luckily, Starscream was as startled as he was and she didn't catch him. Irritation flickered over her faceplate as she straightened.

"Primus, not again." The room vibrated as another boom sounded even closer, followed by a roar.

Then Mirage saw it, salvation hanging by a literal thread of wire over the engraged Seeker's head. A large monitor teetered halfway over the edge of Starscream's computer. Each blast inched it farther from the safety of its perch, pulling on the already fraying string of circuitry holding it steady. All it needed was one good shove.

He slowly, silently, removed his blaster from its subspace holster. He took careful aim. His finger slid into the trigger…and he hesitated.

His optics went wide with horror.

_What the slag? Starscream is the enemy!_

_Starscream is also a FEMME. I don't hit femmes!_

BOOM.

_She was a femme before, too!_

Mirage fought down a wave of sudden guilt.

_Maybe. But I didn't _know_ that!_

_Sweet PRIMUS, PULL THE TRIGGER BEFORE SHE __**KILLS**__ YOU!_

Still struggling with his resolve, Mirage tightened his grip, trying to steady his shaking servoes. _I can't…I have to…I can't…Can I?_

He never got to find out. A final, almost explosive blast landed right outside the door. The shock was too much for the unbalanced monitor and the cord snapped. Starscream's eyes flicked upwards in surprise as the monitor fell.

Before Mirage knew what he was doing and could even consider stopping himself the mech was at her side, shoving the equipment off of the now comatose Seeker's prostrate form. He could hear muffled voices outside. It sounded like two seekers trying to soothe a very large, angry mech. Mirage was running out of time. Slag with that, he was _out_ of time!

She was alive. The rushed mix of emotion flooding him with that realization pushed him off balance so he hesitated, again, giving Starscream the advantage of surprise when she leapt.

The impact alone was enough to bring his field down again, and when his optics onlined she was straddling his chest, his arms were pinned to his sides by her knees, and her null ray was shoved against his helmet, forcing his head backwards against the floor.

_Slag, she's good._ He thought instantly, his head pounding in time with the banging on the door. Apparently, Megatron was done waiting.

"STARSCREAM!!!"

"WHAT?!" Starscream bellowed right back, making Mirage flinch slightly.

"YOU HAVE EXACTLY _ONE KLIK_ BEFORE I **BLAST** THIS DOOR INTO _**OBLIVION**_!"

Starscream snarled, the guttural noise twisting her faceplate into a sneer. She turned her gaze back down to the Autobot pinned beneath her. "_This…Isn't…Over_." She growled, turning the null ray aside and raising a clenched fist. "Thank Megatron…if you can."

A moment later she was himself again. The door slid open with a hiss and Megatron stepped through, followed by the other Seekers, fully prepared to thrash his second in command for insubordination, again. He froze in his tracks as his optics took in the destruction with one sweep. "What the Pits happened here?"

Starscream adopted his familiar arms folded, lean to one side, I-told-you-so glare stance. "I _told_ you, Megatron. I was BUSY."

"Is that…Mirage?"

"You mean the blue-white Autobot spy lying in the middle of my laboratory floor? Probably."

Skywarp, inquisitive as ever, walked across the room and squatted next to the unconscious mech. Thundercracker snapped to attention, mouth closing as he shot a warning glare at his wingmate. "Don't you _dare,_ Skywarp."

"What? Afraid he'll bite me?" Warp teased, placing his finger against Mirage's cheek and rolling the Autobot's head to the side, just to annoy TC.

Their antics seemed to rouse the stunned Decepticon Leader. He began to grin.

"Excellent. Skywarp! Thundercracker! Take this Autobot to the brig."

Starscream frowned. "Megatron, aren't you going to…shut him down?"

"Whatever for?"

Starscream's confusion changed to anger. "Look at what he did to my lab! Imagine what he could have stolen from the datafiles if I hadn't caught him!"

"_Exactly_!" Megatron interrupted. "Think about the _wealth_ of knowledge buried in that worthless Autobot's processor!" He wheeled about and stalked towards the hall with Warp, TC, and Mirage in tow. "Believe you me, Starscream. I have _special plans_ for your little guest."

_As do I, Megatron. As do I…_

**A/N: My plot bunnies are digging out my notes for this story. To hurry their search, please send reviews for them to snack on. Feed the bunnies!**


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